In some ways, this book was eerily relevant to my experiences growing up as an Arab-American, and in others it was completely opposite. He is one of tIn some ways, this book was eerily relevant to my experiences growing up as an Arab-American, and in others it was completely opposite. He is one of the smartest people I've ever read, and as a result his thoughts seem to run around almost incoherently until all of a sudden they come together and make sense. ...more

I read this book expecting it to be a lot more place-oriented, and was surprised (more or less pleasantly) to find that it followed the lives of neighI read this book expecting it to be a lot more place-oriented, and was surprised (more or less pleasantly) to find that it followed the lives of neighborhood residents rather than its streets. Hoffman runs through a series of characters with whom she interacts on a regular basis, in some way tying each personality into the historical situation of the neighborhood (Musrara), Jerusalem, and more broadly, Israel/Palestine. I found what she had to say refreshing because it was short on rhetoric and quite full of real life examples - in the form of personalities - which people the Israeli and even Palestinian neighborhoods of Jerusalem. Rather than force-feeding the reader an image, the book paints it painstakingly in a very self-aware (almost cubist) style.

I guess it was this that detracted from my pleasure in the book. While it certainly had a message, the author leaps about, trying to analyze every possible angle of her statements about Israel/Palestine (criticism or praise) to avoid sounding one dimensional. The result is that the voice is kind of confused, tentative, in a way that I imagine the author felt as an American Jew in the 'new Israeli Jerusalem.' This resonated somewhat with me, but in the end I think something was sacrificed to maintain that uncertainty....more